Phillips 66 $PSX Shares Sold by Benjamin Edwards Inc.

Benjamin Edwards Inc. lowered its holdings in Phillips 66 (NYSE:PSX) by 15.6% during the second quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 26,111 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock after selling 4,831 shares during the period. Benjamin Edwards Inc.’s holdings in Phillips 66 were worth $4,414,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Alyeska Investment Group L.P. raised its position in shares of Phillips 66 by 227.1% during the 2nd quarter. Alyeska Investment Group L.P. now owns 345,112 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $58,341,000 after purchasing an additional 239,612 shares during the period. Cookson Peirce & Co. Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Phillips 66 by 5.1% in the 2nd quarter. Cookson Peirce & Co. Inc. now owns 3,512 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $594,000 after purchasing an additional 172 shares during the last quarter. Meiji Yasuda Life Insurance Co acquired a new position in Phillips 66 during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $203,000. Spinnaker Trust grew its stake in Phillips 66 by 5.2% during the 2nd quarter. Spinnaker Trust now owns 4,075 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $689,000 after buying an additional 200 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Cullinan Associates Inc. grew its stake in Phillips 66 by 1.3% during the 2nd quarter. Cullinan Associates Inc. now owns 9,762 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $1,650,000 after buying an additional 123 shares during the last quarter. 76.93% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity at Phillips 66

In related news, CFO Kevin J. Mitchell sold 11,021 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, July 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $190.03, for a total transaction of $2,094,320.63. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 97,376 shares in the company, valued at $18,504,361.28. This trade represents a 10.17% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, EVP Brian Mandell sold 30,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $215.00, for a total value of $6,450,000.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 61,595 shares in the company, valued at approximately $13,242,925. The trade was a 32.75% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 100,507 shares of company stock valued at $21,770,810. Insiders own 0.40% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on PSX shares. Morgan Stanley raised their target price on Phillips 66 from $180.00 to $196.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, June 12th. Barclays upped their price target on shares of Phillips 66 from $183.00 to $216.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 6th. Argus increased their price objective on shares of Phillips 66 from $185.00 to $197.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, May 14th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on shares of Phillips 66 from $201.00 to $239.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 6th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group boosted their target price on shares of Phillips 66 from $191.00 to $207.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 9th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirteen have issued a Buy rating and eight have issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $206.56.

Phillips 66 Price Performance

Shares of NYSE PSX opened at $244.50 on Monday. Phillips 66 has a fifty-two week low of $126.74 and a fifty-two week high of $246.95. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $206.11 and its 200 day simple moving average is $182.76. The company has a quick ratio of 1.00, a current ratio of 1.32 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.57. The stock has a market cap of $97.56 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.93, a P/E/G ratio of 0.18 and a beta of 0.68.

Phillips 66 (NYSE:PSX) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 5th. The oil and gas company reported $9.41 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $7.50 by $1.91. The business had revenue of $52.04 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $43.60 billion. Phillips 66 had a net margin of 4.54% and a return on equity of 19.93%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $2.38 earnings per share. Equities analysts expect that Phillips 66 will post 23.86 EPS for the current year.

Phillips 66 announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock buyback plan on Friday, July 31st that permits the company to repurchase $10.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization permits the oil and gas company to reacquire up to 11.8% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are usually an indication that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Phillips 66 Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 1st. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, August 18th will be paid a $1.27 dividend. This represents a $5.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.1%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, August 18th. Phillips 66’s dividend payout ratio is currently 28.95%.

About Phillips 66

Phillips 66 (NYSE: PSX) is an independent energy manufacturing and logistics company engaged primarily in refining, midstream transportation, marketing and chemicals. The company processes crude oil into transportation fuels, lubricants and other petroleum products, operates pipeline and storage infrastructure, and participates in petrochemical production through strategic investments. Phillips 66 serves commercial, industrial and retail customers and positions its operations across the value chain of the downstream energy sector.

The company’s principal activities include refining crude oil into gasoline, diesel, jet fuel and feedstocks for petrochemical production; operating midstream assets such as pipelines, terminals and fractionators that move and store crude oil and natural gas liquids; and marketing and distributing fuels and lubricants through wholesale and retail channels.